She Likes Three Marshmallows
by jesterjessie
Summary: Brittany was just trying to be a good person, no matter how much it hurt, because she owed it to Santana; the blonde knew how difficult the Latina could be to understand, so she was just trying to help her new girlfriend out. [Or, how Brittany discovered that Santana wasn't really dating Elaine.]


**Disclaimer:** Trust me, when I own Glee, I'll let you know.

**Author's note: **So, I know I should be working on the next chapter for _A Side of You_, but this idea has been running around my head all day (which really wasn't conducive to me paying attention in any lectures!). Watching 'Diva', one of my most prominent thoughts was 'How did Brittany get Elaine to tell her that?', and, well, here's my interpretation of it... Enjoy!

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"She likes three marshmallows."

The dark-haired cheerleader jumped, nearly slipping from her perch on one of McKinley's various outdoor tables as she swivelled round to face Brittany, the blonde's softly-spoken words breaking through whatever thoughts had captivated the older girl to such an extent that she didn't hear her approach. The courtyard was empty save for them and a small group of freshmen, anxious looks painted across their faces as they hurried to make it to class before the late bell sounded; ordinarily Brittany would be in a similar position, breaking into a light jog on her way over from the English classrooms in order to make her weekly session with Miss Pillsbury on time, but the red-headed guidance counsellor had cancelled their meetings indefinitely until her wedding was over, concern for Brittany's studies replaced by panic over centrepieces and seating arrangements.

Still, if Miss Pillsbury had better things to do, then so did she, Brittany had thought as she traipsed around McKinley searching for one of the two girls who had plagued her mind all day, refusing to leave her thoughts untroubled since she left the choir room after Glee.

Searching for Elaine.

"Sorry?"

"In her hot chocolate. If you ever make it for her, remember she likes three marshmallows," Brittany explained, her voice still soft as she gazed at some vague point in the distance. It hurt to look at the other girl, not just because she was Santana's new girlfriend, but also because her cheerleading uniform dragged her mind back to all the Skype calls the Latina missed because of practice; because the fact that she was also from Louisville both reminded Brittany of just how far away her ex-girlfriend was and confirmed the fear she'd had since Santana left that she'd find someone new, someone _better_, at college; and because at the sight of them kissing so openly in the choir room, everything the two of them had struggled through to be together had flashed to the front of her mind, along with the pure joy she felt when she could proudly state she was her best friend's girlfriend.

She knew what Santana was doing from the moment she flung her arm round the brunette currently sat in front of her, introducing her to the glee club but pointedly staring only at her. This was part of the Latina's defence mechanism, one she'd developed over the years of competing for absolutely everything while trying desperately to hide parts of herself from the world, lashing out at others to disguise the hurt tearing her apart. Brittany had expected something like this to happen ever since she'd started dating Sam, even more so after the fake wedding ceremony, to which she still wasn't sure why she agreed. It was stupid, even she'd admit that, the kind of thing the rest of McKinley no doubt expected of her after she failed to graduate...realistically, she knew that on some level she'd only been playing along with the blond boy's apocalyptic theories because, if she was honest with herself, at the end of the world, the only place she would truly want to be is with her arms wrapped around Santana.

Honestly the blonde was surprised it had taken so long for the news to reach the Latina; Brittany had anticipated the gossip travelling quickly through the scattered band of former glee clubbers. The blonde had chickened out of telling her on multiple occasions, numerous texts doomed to her draft box as she struggled to find the words to say she was making an attempt at moving on, at least while she couldn't easily be with Santana, or that maybe it was important for them to grow outside of each other. It was cowardly, she knew that, but every time her thumb hovered over the button as she debated whether to send it, the image of Santana receiving it while alone in her room stopped her. Brittany had known the former Cheerio would be angry with her and she was right, the snark in her voice that morning in the choir room nothing compared to the hurt reflected in her eyes.

But then, Santana hadn't bothered to tell her about Elaine...

"If she's hard to wake her up in the morning, kiss her just below her jaw, right here," she murmured, fingers instinctively moving to point out the spot she meant as she kept her eyes fixed away, tears threatening to overwhelm her vision as every time she'd resorted to that trick flickered behind her eyes.

"What?" Elaine replied. She sounded confused – maybe they hadn't been dating that long? – but Brittany just shook her head, determined to finish what she came here to say before the lump in her throat became too painful to speak around.

"San, uh, she always tries to convince herself she likes horror movies," she chuckled weakly, memories of movie nights that ended with Santana curled up in a ball, her face pressed into a cushion, flooding painfully into her mind. "So, if she manages to get you to watch one...pretend to be terrified, even if you're not, so she doesn't feel embarrassed for being scared."

"I don't need you to-..." Elaine started to reply, pushing herself up from her seat to walk over to the blonde.

Brittany shook her head again, holding her hand up to interrupt the other girl. "Please," she begged, her voice hitching slightly. "Just let me finish."

The Louisville cheerleader crossed the short distance separating the two of them, shaking her head gently, and came to rest in front of the blonde. The words dried up in Brittany's mouth, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion at the soft, warm smile playing about Elaine's lips. Please say we're not about to have a girlfriend-off, she thought desperately, sure she wouldn't be able to cope.

"You really don't need to tell me this," she began, the smile still visible. "You're Brittany, aren't you? Santana's ex?"

The blonde nodded, not entirely sure where this was going, and tilted her head to the side as she stared at Elaine, fingers fiddling nervously with the pleats on her skirt.

"Look, I'm not trying to say you're a bad girlfriend or anything, I just...I've just known her a long time, y'know? I'm only trying to help."

Elaine laughed, shaking her head in amusement as her eyes crinkled at the corners ('Just like Santana's do' Brittany noted with a frown). The blonde didn't understand what was so funny; sure, she could have understood if the older girl had been offended, or had brushed her off instantly, but her amusement was confusing. She bit her lip, heat rising up the back of her neck in the same way it did whenever some laughed at her and she didn't understand why, and waited for Elaine to explain.

"We're not...Santana and I aren't dating."

Brittany frowned, completely lost by this point. Santana had definitely introduced the girl in front of her as her girlfriend; Brittany knew she hadn't imagined that, so why was the other brunette now claiming it wasn't true?

"But she said-..."

"Yeah, I know what she said," Elaine interrupted with a small sigh. "We're not dating, believe me. I mean, we hooked up once, drunkenly, but we're not together. And she, uh...she said your name," she trailed off, gaze drifting to the floor as a flush splattered itself across her cheeks.

Brittany swallowed. The thought of Santana in a relationship with another girl had been hard enough to stomach, which she knew was selfish of her, but the thought of her doing, well, anything like _that_ with another girl made her feel physically sick. She felt like she'd been punched in the gut as an irrational feeling of nausea crept up her throat.

"So why did she say that you're together then?" the blonde asked, determined to understand. Elaine bit her lip, hesitating before answering her question, but eventually she opened her mouth to speak.

"Because she didn't want to come back to visit as a single college dropout, not when you're so happy with whatever that blond boy is called." She held her hand up, cutting Brittany off before she could react to the news that Santana had dropped out, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to work through her shock. "It was about three weeks ago...she hated it at Louisville, Brittany, especially since the two of you broke up. It just wasn't the right place for her, but she hasn't known what to do since she quit. Then when she got the invite back, she asked some of us to come with her and for me to pretend to be her girlfriend. She even gave me some concert tickets, and an Ani di Franco top, just to get me to say yes...I mean, I would have done it anyway, but I'm not going to turn those down," the cheerleader finished with a shrug.

Brittany's tears had dried up by this point, her brain whirring in an attempt to process the fact that the Latina had dropped out of college. A fleeting thought that maybe Santana could return to Lima flashed briefly into being before Brittany banished it to the back of her mind, irritated by her own selfishness. She understand now how the brunette must have felt when she found out about her relationship with Sam, hurt blossoming in her chest as the news winded her, and the blonde regretted every time she neglected to inform the other girl.

"Why didn't she tell me?" she asked weakly after a few moments.

Elaine smiled wryly and reached out to rest her hand lightly on Brittany's shoulder.

"She didn't want to disappoint you."

The Cheerio nodded shakily, choking on a breath that threatened to devolve into a sob at the faith her best friend still placed in her. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it sharply, not knowing what to say to the other cheerleader apart from...

"Thank you."

Elaine grinned, her hand sliding from Brittany's shoulder as she shrugged, and she waved her other hand absently as if to suggest it was no big deal.

"Honestly, it's no problem. She deserves to be happy, y'know? But I don't envy you...I mean, you have a pretty heavy decision to make right now."

The brunette shrugged again, the same gentle kindness that Brittany had first noticed still radiating off of her. Brittany was surprised; there was no hint that she wasn't good enough for Santana, that she better make the right decision or else, just a simple attempt by a girl who had clearly become one of Santana's closest friends (if the amount of her personal life she'd shared with Elaine was anything to go by) at coaxing the Latina to happiness. She was slightly awed by her genuine helpfulness as the older girl turned away with a smile, heading across the courtyard and back into McKinley, no doubt in search of the other cheerleaders Santana had somehow managed to drag to Lima.

"Yeah, I really do."

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**Author's note (2): **What did you think? Did I do the hidden scene justice? Please, any thoughts you have, no matter if they're positive, negative, or somewhere in between...don't hesitate to drop me a review. I'd love to know how I can improve for my next story!


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